Knowledge is one of the pillars in building a smart, prosperous and forward-looking city. The investment in mentoring and computer education at the secondary school level is part of an ongoing revolution in public education and aims to contribute to greater school success through new approaches:
- Strengthen support for teachers;
- New dynamics in the classroom;
- Better monitoring of students:
- Stimulate critical thinking and motivation of students;
- Promote scientific and technological literacy.
"Our school is the first public school to have computer education, so it is an example for others. My dad only learned the binary tree in college, and we didn't, we're learning it in fifth grade."
Levy Taquary, student
"Bringing playful moments combined with the contents of the disciplines allows students to be more active in their learning process and also take stock of the level at which their study is constantly at."
Maria Eduarda Guedes, mentor
"There is a very close relationship between the mentor and the students, and I think it has worked, and in fact when she is not there I miss her."
Margarida Barreto, teatcher
Mentoring in Education: during the 23/24 school year, around 1,200 students from 40 10th and 11th grade classes in 10 school groupings already have the support of mentors during lessons. This project provides schools with 19 mentors with degrees in different areas and specific training in mentoring.
Education for Computing: the programme started in the 23/24 school year in thirty-six 7th grade classes in 9 public school groups in Cascais, enabling more than a thousand students to be taught computing. The computer lessons are integrated into school time, once a week, and are administered by the respective teachers
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The annual programme offers those aged between 15 and 30 a chance to take part in youth volunteering events, and get involved in projects that promote active citizenship skills, as well as the development of soft skills on a personal, social and professional level.
These are practical, occasional and short term activities, varying according to the specificity of the project and/or event.
They cover different areas of the Municipality of Cascais' services, such as education, sports, youth, urbanism, environment, communication and culture.
Since its implementation, there have been over 1230 participating volunteers, who contributed to 76,471 hours of voluntary work.
Cascais Edu is a mobile application that provides the educational community (students, parents, teachers) specific educational information: activities, evaluations, absences, schedules and contacts, among others.
It can be a meeting point between different stakeholders, provide quick access to information and ensure transparency and participation among all.
City Points is a mobile app that is designed to promote good citizenship practices and recognize citizens who actively contribute to local sustainability.
Operating since 2018, it relies on a gamification system that scores users who actively engage in predefined actions. The points can be exchanged for products or services vouchers provided by local partners.
It joins synergies with other municipal participatory democracy policies, such as Participatory Budget and other Cascais Participa strategy initiatives.
With international recognition, City Points was the winning Project of the WSA - World Summit Awards 2018, category "Government & City Engagement"; and obtained 1st place in the IDC 2020 - "Smart Cities and Communities Europe and Central Asia Awards", category "Economic Development and Participation".
The Youth Participatory Budget wants to promote the participatory democracy among the younger communities. This is achieved by students participating in public sessions, where they present and vote on their own proposals for school improvements.
The public participation sessions are open to all students of the facilities, reinforcing the importance of sharing, debating, and disseminating results among peers. Each school is assigned 10 000€ to implement the students' proposals.
In 2021/2022, 349 students and 27 teachers from 15 schools participated directly in the definition and discussion of proposals, covering nearly 15,000 students in the Cascais public school system.
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